U.S. patent number 9,983,750 [Application Number 15/164,563] was granted by the patent office on 2018-05-29 for in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Raydium Semiconductor Corporation. The grantee listed for this patent is Raydium Semiconductor Corporation. Invention is credited to Chang-Ching Chiang, Yu-Chin Hsu, Kun-Pei Lee, Yi-Ying Lin.
United States Patent |
9,983,750 |
Lee , et al. |
May 29, 2018 |
In-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel
Abstract
An in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is disclosed. The
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel includes a plurality of
pixels. A laminated structure of each pixel includes a substrate, a
TFT layer, a liquid crystal layer, a color filter layer and a glass
layer. The TFT layer is disposed on the substrate. A first
conductive layer and a common electrode are disposed in the TFT
layer. The first conductive layer is arranged in mesh type or only
arranged along a first direction in an active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. The liquid crystal layer is disposed
above the TFT layer. The color filter layer is disposed above the
liquid crystal layer. The glass layer is disposed above the color
filter layer.
Inventors: |
Lee; Kun-Pei (Zhunan Township,
TW), Lin; Yi-Ying (Hualien, TW), Chiang;
Chang-Ching (Taichung, TW), Hsu; Yu-Chin
(Hsinchu, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Raydium Semiconductor Corporation |
Hsinchu |
N/A |
TW |
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Assignee: |
Raydium Semiconductor
Corporation (Hsinchu County, TW)
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Family
ID: |
56975302 |
Appl.
No.: |
15/164,563 |
Filed: |
May 25, 2016 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20160282995 A1 |
Sep 29, 2016 |
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Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
Issue Date |
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14858457 |
Sep 18, 2015 |
9891745 |
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62065278 |
Oct 17, 2014 |
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62166101 |
May 25, 2015 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06F
3/0443 (20190501); G06F 3/0412 (20130101); G06F
3/044 (20130101); G06F 3/04184 (20190501); G06F
3/04164 (20190501); G06F 2203/04112 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G06F
3/041 (20060101); G06F 3/044 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lubit; Ryan A
Claims
The invention claimed is:
1. An in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel, comprising: a
plurality of pixels, a laminated structure of each pixel
comprising: a substrate; a thin-film transistor layer disposed on
the substrate, wherein a first conductive layer and a common
electrode are disposed in the TFT layer, and the first conductive
layer is arranged in mesh type or only arranged along a first
direction in an active area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel; a liquid crystal layer disposed above the thin-film
transistor layer; a color filter layer disposed above the liquid
crystal layer; and a glass layer disposed above the color filter
layer; wherein touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel comprises a first direction electrode and a second
direction electrode, the first direction electrode is formed by the
first conductive layer arranged in mesh type and the second
direction electrode is formed by the first conductive layer
arranged along the first direction in the active area electrically
connected with the common electrode through a via; wherein a
multi-function electrode is disposed between the first direction
electrode and the second direction electrode; the multi-function
electrode is formed by the first conductive layer arranged along
the first direction in the active area electrically connected with
the common electrode through a via.
2. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the first direction electrode and the second direction electrode
are a driving electrode and a sensing electrode respectively or the
first direction electrode and the second direction electrode are
the sensing electrode and the driving electrode respectively.
3. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the first conductive layer is formed after the common electrode is
formed.
4. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the first conductive layer is formed before the common electrode is
formed.
5. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the color filter layer comprises a color filter and a black matrix
resist, the black matrix resist has light resistance, and the first
conductive layer is disposed under the black matrix resist.
6. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the thin-film transistor layer further comprises an original
conductive layer; the original conductive layer is electrically
connected with the common electrode to reduce RC loading of the
common electrode.
7. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
when the laminated structure has a half source driving (HSD)
structure, the laminated structure comprises an additional vacated
source line space for electrically connecting an original
conductive layer of the thin-film transistor layer with the first
conductive layer or the common electrode.
8. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 7, wherein
the original conductive layer and a source and a drain of the
thin-film transistor layer are formed simultaneously.
9. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the second direction electrodes in the same channel are
electrically connected in a border area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel through traces.
10. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 9, wherein
traces of the second direction electrode are uniformly disposed or
different numbers of the traces are disposed in different
regions.
11. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein a
part of the common electrode corresponding to the first direction
electrode is electrically connected with another part of the common
electrode in a border area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel.
12. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 11, wherein
a plurality of the first direction electrode is divided into a
first group of electrodes and a second group of electrodes; traces
of the first group of electrodes and the second group of electrodes
are arranged without any electrical connections between the traces
of the first group of electrodes and the second group of
electrodes.
13. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 12, wherein
two first direction electrodes of the second group of electrodes
are electrically connected.
14. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 12, wherein
a part of the common electrode corresponding to the first group of
electrodes and another part of the common electrode corresponding
to the second group of electrodes are part of the same common
electrode region or different common electrode regions
respectively.
15. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
the multi-function electrode is electrically connected with other
multi-function electrodes in a border area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel through traces.
16. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 15, wherein
the active area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is
surrounded by traces of the multi-function electrode in the border
area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel.
17. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein
when the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in a
touch mode, the common electrode is switched to a floating state or
provided a touch related signal having the same frequency, the same
amplitude or the same phase with a touch signal.
18. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 1, wherein a
touch mode and a display mode of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way; the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch mode during
a blanking interval of a display period.
19. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 18, wherein
the blanking interval comprises at least one of a vertical blanking
interval (VBI), a horizontal blanking interval (HBI), and a long
horizontal blanking interval (LHBI); a time length of the LHBI is
equal to or larger than a time length of the HBI; the LHBI is
obtained by redistributing a plurality of HBIs or the LHBI
comprises the VBI.
20. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 18, wherein
the common electrode has a plurality of common electrode regions
overlapped with a plurality of touch electrodes of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel respectively; when the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch mode, the
plurality of touch electrodes is provided a plurality of touch
signals in order and the common electrode is provided a plurality
of touch related signals having the same frequency, the same
amplitude or the same phase with the plurality of touch signals in
order correspondingly or the common electrode is in a floating
state.
21. The in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of claim 20, wherein
the plurality of touch electrodes is driving electrodes or sensing
electrodes.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a touch panel, especially to an in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel.
Description of the Related Art
In general, there are several different laminated structures of the
capacitive touch panel, for example, an in-cell capacitive touch
panel or an on-cell capacitive touch panel.
Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate two
different laminated structures of the in-cell capacitive touch
panel and the on-cell capacitive touch panel respectively. As shown
in FIG. 1, the laminated structure 1 of the on-cell capacitive
touch panel includes a substrate 10, a thin-film transistor layer
11, a liquid crystal layer 12, a color filtering layer 13, a glass
layer 14, a touch sensing layer 15, a polarizer 16, an adhesive 17,
and top lens 18. As shown in FIG. 2, the laminated structure 2 of
the in-cell capacitive touch panel includes a substrate 20, a
thin-film transistor layer 21, a touch sensing layer 22, a liquid
crystal layer 23, a color filtering layer 24, a glass layer 25, a
polarizer 26, an adhesive 27, and top lens 28.
After comparing FIG. 1 with FIG. 2, it can be found that the touch
sensing layer 22 of the in-cell capacitive touch panel is disposed
under the liquid crystal layer 23; that is to say, the touch
sensing layer 22 is disposed in the liquid crystal display module
of the in-cell capacitive touch panel. On the other hand, the touch
sensing layer 15 of the on-cell capacitive touch panel is disposed
above the glass layer 14; that is to say, the touch sensing layer
15 is disposed out of the liquid crystal display module of the
on-cell capacitive touch panel. Therefore, compared to the
conventional one glass solution (OGS) and on-cell capacitive touch
panel, the in-cell capacitive touch panel can achieve thinnest
touch panel design and widely used in portable electronic products
such as mobile phones, tablet PCs, and notebooks.
Therefore, the invention provides an in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel to solve the above-mentioned problems.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, the invention provides an in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel to solve the above-mentioned problems.
A preferred embodiment of the invention is an in-cell touch panel.
In this embodiment, the in-cell touch panel includes a plurality of
pixels. A laminated structure of each pixel includes a substrate, a
TFT layer, a liquid crystal layer, a color filter layer and a glass
layer. The TFT layer is disposed on the substrate. A first
conductive layer and a common electrode are disposed in the TFT
layer. The first conductive layer is arranged in mesh type or only
arranged along a first direction in an active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. The liquid crystal layer is disposed
above the TFT layer. The color filter layer is disposed above the
liquid crystal layer. The glass layer is disposed above the color
filter layer.
In an embodiment, touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel includes a first direction electrode and a second
direction electrode, the first direction electrode is formed by the
first conductive layer arranged in mesh type and the second
direction electrode is formed by the first conductive layer
arranged along the first direction in the active area electrically
connected with the common electrode through a via.
In an embodiment, the first direction electrode and the second
direction electrode are a driving electrode and a sensing electrode
respectively or the first direction electrode and the second
direction electrode are the sensing electrode and the driving
electrode respectively.
In an embodiment, a multi-function electrode is disposed between
the first direction electrode and the second direction electrode;
the multi-function electrode is formed by the first conductive
layer arranged along the first direction in the active area
electrically connected with the common electrode through a via.
In an embodiment, the first conductive layer is formed after the
common electrode is formed.
In an embodiment, the first conductive layer is formed before the
common electrode is formed.
In an embodiment, the color filter layer includes a color filter
and a black matrix resist, the black matrix resist has good light
resistance, and the first conductive layer is disposed under the
black matrix resist.
In an embodiment, a part of the first conductive layer not forming
the touch electrode is electrically connected with a part of the
common electrode corresponding to the first direction electrode to
reduce RC loading of the common electrode.
In an embodiment, the thin-film transistor layer further includes
an original conductive layer; the original conductive layer is
electrically connected with the common electrode to reduce RC
loading of the common electrode.
In an embodiment, when the laminated structure has a half source
driving (HSD) structure, the laminated structure includes an
additional vacated source line space for electrically connecting an
original conductive layer of the thin-film transistor layer with
the first conductive layer or the common electrode.
In an embodiment, the original conductive layer and a source and a
drain of the thin-film transistor layer are formed
simultaneously.
In an embodiment, the second direction electrodes in the same
channel are electrically connected in a border area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel through traces.
In an embodiment, a part of the common electrode corresponding to
the first direction electrode is electrically connected with
another part of the common electrode in a border area of the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel.
In an embodiment, the multi-function electrode is electrically
connected with other multi-function electrodes in a border area of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel through traces.
In an embodiment, traces of the second direction electrode are
uniformly disposed or different numbers of the traces are disposed
in different regions.
In an embodiment, the active area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel is surrounded by traces of the multi-function electrode
in the border area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel.
In an embodiment, a plurality of the first direction electrode is
divided into a first group of electrodes and a second group of
electrodes; traces of the first group of electrodes pass through
the second group of electrodes without any electrical
connections.
In an embodiment, two first direction electrodes of the second
group of electrodes are electrically connected.
In an embodiment, a part of the common electrode corresponding to
the first group of electrodes and another part of the common
electrode corresponding to the second group of electrodes are
belonged to the same common electrode region or different common
electrode regions respectively.
In an embodiment, when the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is
operated in a touch mode, the common electrode is switched to a
floating state or provided a touch related signal having the same
frequency, the same amplitude or the same phase with a touch
signal.
In an embodiment, a touch mode and a display mode of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way; the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch mode
during a blanking interval of a display period.
In an embodiment, the blanking interval includes at least one of a
vertical blanking interval (VBI), a horizontal blanking interval
(HBI), and a long horizontal blanking interval (LHBI); a time
length of the LHBI is equal to or larger than a time length of the
HBI; the LHBI is obtained by redistributing a plurality of HBIs or
the LHBI includes the VBI.
In an embodiment, the common electrode has a plurality of common
electrode regions overlapped with a plurality of touch electrodes
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel respectively; when the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch
mode, the plurality of touch electrodes is provided a plurality of
touch signals in order and the common electrode is provided a
plurality of touch related signals having the same frequency, the
same amplitude or the same phase with the plurality of touch
signals in order correspondingly or the common electrode is in a
floating state.
In an embodiment, the plurality of touch electrodes is driving
electrodes or sensing electrodes.
Compared to the prior arts, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel of the invention has the following advantages and
effects:
(1) Designs of the touch sensing electrodes and their traces in the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention are
simple.
(2) he original aperture ratio of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel will not affected by the layout method of the
invention.
(3) The RC loading of the common electrode can be reduced.
(4) When the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in
touch mode, the common electrode is controlled simultaneously to
reduce entire RC loading of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel.
(5) The touch mode and the display mode of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way to
enhance the signal-noise ratio (SNR).
The advantage and spirit of the invention may be understood by the
following detailed descriptions together with the appended
drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
So that the manner in which the above recited features of the
present invention can be understood in detail, a more particular
description of the invention, briefly summarized above, may be had
by reference to embodiments, some of which are illustrated in the
appended drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the appended
drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and
are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, for the
invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.
FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 illustrate schematic diagrams of the laminated
structures of the conventional in-cell and on-cell capacitive touch
panels respectively.
FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the
laminated structure of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel in
an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the
laminated structure of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel in
another embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the pixel design of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention.
FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of the laminated structure
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel having the HSD
structure.
FIG. 7 illustrates a first embodiment of the layout of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention.
FIG. 8 illustrates a schematic diagram of the touch driving
electrodes (TX) having 24 channels along the vertical direction and
the touch sensing electrodes (RX) having 14 channels along the
horizontal direction.
FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment of the layout of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention.
FIG. 10 illustrates a schematic diagram of the touch driving
electrodes (TX) having 14 channels along the horizontal direction
and the touch sensing electrodes (RX) having 24 channels along the
vertical direction.
FIG. 11 illustrates a third embodiment of the layout of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention.
FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of the touch sensing
electrodes (RX) having 12 channels along the vertical direction and
the touch driving electrodes (TX) having 30 channels along the
horizontal direction.
FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B illustrate schematic diagrams of the
mesh-type touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel having linear edges or non-linear edges.
FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of the mesh-type touch
electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel having
multi-function electrodes.
FIG. 15A illustrates a schematic diagram of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel operated in the touch mode by
outputting touch driving signals during the blanking interval of
the image signal.
FIG. 15B illustrates a schematic diagram of the vertical blanking
interval (VBI), the horizontal blanking interval (HBI), and the
long horizontal blanking interval respectively.
FIG. 16 illustrates a timing diagram of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of FIG. 7 operated in the display
mode and the touch mode respectively.
FIG. 17A and FIG. 17B illustrate timing diagrams of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of FIG. 9 operated in the display
mode and the touch mode respectively.
FIG. 18 illustrates a timing diagram of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of FIG. 11 operated in the display
mode and the touch mode respectively.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A preferred embodiment of the invention is an in-cell touch panel.
In practical applications, the in-cell touch panel is an in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel, but not limited to this.
In this embodiment, the in-cell touch panel includes a plurality of
pixels. A laminated structure of each pixel includes a substrate, a
TFT layer, a liquid crystal layer, a color filter layer and a glass
layer. The TFT layer is disposed on the substrate. The first
conductive layer is arranged in mesh type. The liquid crystal layer
is disposed above the TFT layer. The color filter layer is disposed
above the liquid crystal layer. The glass layer is disposed above
the color filter layer. A first conductive layer and a common
electrode are disposed in the TFT layer.
It should be noticed that the first conductive layer of the
invention is arranged in mesh type or only arranged along a first
direction in an active area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel. Touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel includes a first direction electrode and a second direction
electrode, wherein the first direction electrode is formed by the
first conductive layer arranged in mesh type and the second
direction electrode is formed by the first conductive layer
arranged along the first direction in the active area electrically
connected with the common electrode through a via. In fact, the
first direction electrode and the second direction electrode can be
used as a driving electrode and a sensing electrode for
mutual-capacitive sensing respectively or the first direction
electrode and the second direction electrode can be used as the
sensing electrode and the driving electrode for mutual-capacitive
sensing respectively without specific limitations.
Please refer to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 illustrates a cross-sectional
schematic diagram of the laminated structure of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel in the first embodiment of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 3, the laminated structure 3 of the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel includes a substrate 30, a
thin-film transistor (TFT) layer 31, a liquid crystal layer 32, a
color filter layer 33 and a glass layer 34. The color filter layer
33 includes a color filter CF and a black matrix resist BM, wherein
the black matrix resist BM has good light resistance and can be
used in the color filter layer 33 as the material of color filter
to separate the three colors: red (R), green (G) and blue (B).
In this embodiment, a first conductive layer M3 and a common
electrode CITO are disposed in the TFT layer 31, and the first
conductive layer M3 is formed after the common electrode CITO. The
first conductive layer M3 can be arranged in mesh type or only
arranged along a first direction in an active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. The first conductive layer M3 is
disposed under the black matrix resist BM, so that the black matrix
resist BM having good light resistance can shield the underlying
first conductive layer M3.
It should be noticed that the touch electrodes of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention includes a first
direction electrode and a second direction electrode. As shown in
FIG. 3, the first conductive layer M3 not electrically connected
with the common electrode CITO is arranged in mesh type to form the
first direction electrode; the first conductive layer M3
electrically connected with the common electrode CITO through the
via VIA is arranged along the first direction in the active area of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel to form the second
direction electrode.
When the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention
performs mutual-capacitive sensing, if the first direction
electrode (namely the first conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh
type) is used as driving electrodes, then the second direction
electrode (namely the first conductive layer M3 electrically
connected with the common electrode CITO) is used as sensing
electrodes; on the contrary, if the first direction electrode is
used as the sensing electrodes, then the second direction electrode
is used as the driving electrodes.
Then, please refer to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 illustrates a cross-sectional
schematic diagram of the laminated structure of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel in another embodiment of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the laminated structure 4 of the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel includes a substrate 40, a
TFT layer 41, a liquid crystal layer 42, a color filter layer 43
and a glass layer 44. The color filter layer 43 includes a color
filter CF and a black matrix resist BM, wherein the black matrix
resist BM has good light resistance and can be used in the color
filter layer 43 as the material of color filter to separate the
three colors: red (R), green (G) and blue (B).
In this embodiment, a first conductive layer M3 and a common
electrode CITO are disposed in the TFT layer 41, and the first
conductive layer M3 is formed before the common electrode CITO. The
first conductive layer M3 can be arranged in mesh type or only
arranged along a first direction in an active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. The first conductive layer M3 is
disposed under the black matrix resist BM, so that the black matrix
resist BM having good light resistance can shield the underlying
first conductive layer M3.
It should be noticed that the touch electrodes of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention includes a first
direction electrode and a second direction electrode. As shown in
FIG. 4, the first conductive layer M3 not electrically connected
with the common electrode CITO is arranged in mesh type to form the
first direction electrode; the first conductive layer M3
electrically connected with the common electrode CITO through the
via VIA is arranged along the first direction in the active area of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel to form the second
direction electrode.
When the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention
performs mutual-capacitive sensing, if the first direction
electrode (namely the first conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh
type) is used as driving electrodes, then the second direction
electrode (namely the first conductive layer M3 electrically
connected with the common electrode CITO) is used as sensing
electrodes; on the contrary, if the first direction electrode is
used as the sensing electrodes, then the second direction electrode
is used as the driving electrodes.
Please refer to FIG. 5. FIG. 5 illustrates an embodiment of the
pixel design of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the
invention. As shown in FIG. 5, the multi-function electrode MFL can
be disposed between the first direction electrode TE1 and the
second direction electrode TE2. In practical applications, the
multi-function electrode MFL can be formed by the first conductive
layer M3 arranged along the first direction in the active area of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel electrically connected
with the common electrode CITO through the via VIA, but not limited
to this.
As shown in FIG. 5, the dotted-line range 5A shows that the common
electrode CITO and the first conductive layer M3 are insulated from
each other; the dotted-line ranges 5B and 5C show that the common
electrode CITO is disconnected; the dotted-line range 5D shows that
the common electrode CITO and the first conductive layer M3 are
insulated from each other; the dotted-line range 5E shows that the
common electrode CITO and the first conductive layer M3 are
electrically connected.
Please refer to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 illustrates a schematic diagram of
the laminated structure of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel having the HSD structure. As shown in FIG. 6, when the
laminated structure uses pixel design of the HSD structure, the
laminated structure will include an additional vacated source line
space for electrically connecting an original conductive layer of
the thin-film transistor layer with the first conductive layer or
the common electrode, but not limited to this. In fact, the
original conductive layer and a source and a drain of the TFT layer
can be formed at the same time.
For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the dotted-line range 6A shows
that the additional original conductive layer M2 is electrically
connected with the first conductive layer M3 through the via VIA,
so that it can be parallel to the trace of the common electrode
CITO to generate the double traces effect, wherein the first
conductive layer M3 and the common electrode CITO are electrically
connected and only has one direction traces; the dotted-line range
6B shows that the first conductive layer M3 and the common
electrode CITO in the electrode range are electrically connected
through the via VIA, wherein the first conductive layer M3 and the
common electrode CITO are electrically connected and only has one
direction traces; the dotted-line range 6C shows that the
additional original conductive layer M2 is used as traces of the
common electrode CITO corresponding to the first conductive layer
M3 arranged in mesh type to reduce the RC loading of the common
electrode CITO; the dotted-line range 6D shows that a part of the
first conductive layer M3 not forming touch electrodes is
electrically connected with a part of the common electrode CITO
corresponding to the first direction electrode to be used as traces
of the common electrode CITO to reduce the RC loading of the common
electrode CITO.
Please refer to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 illustrates a first embodiment of
the layout of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the
invention. In this embodiment, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel uses the second direction electrode as the touch driving
electrode (TX) and the first direction electrode as the touch
sensing electrode (RX), but not limited to this. As shown in FIG.
7, it is assumed that the touch driving electrodes
TX1-1.about.TX1-m belong to the same channel TX1, the touch driving
electrodes TX2-1.about.TX2-m belong to the same channel TX2, the
touch driving electrodes TX3-1.about.TX3-m belong to the same
channel TX3 and the touch driving electrodes TX4-1.about.TX4-m
belong to the same channel TX4. Taking the channel TX1 for example,
horizontal traces TR3 are disposed above and under the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel to connect the touch driving
electrodes TX1-1.about.TX1-m belong to the same channel TX1 to
achieve the double routing design and reduce the resistance. In
addition, because the touch driving electrodes TX1-1.about.TX1-m at
the right side and the left side have traces TR entering into the
control circuit IC respectively, the aim of multi-region driving
can be achieved to reduce the RC loading. About the other channels
TX2.about.TX4, since they are similar to the above-mentioned
channel TX1, they will not be repeated here. As to the traces TR of
the touch sensing electrodes RX1 and RXm, they enter into the
control circuit IC respectively; the traces TR of the
multi-function electrodes MFL are connected together and then enter
into the control circuit IC respectively.
The touch sensing electrodes RX1 and RXm are formed by the first
conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh type. A part of the common
electrode CITO corresponding to the touch sensing electrodes RX1
and RXm are electrically connected with the other parts of the
common electrode CITO in the border area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. And, a part of the first conductive
layer M3 not forming the touch electrodes is used as the traces of
the part of the common electrode CITO corresponding to the touch
sensing electrodes RX1 and RXm to reduce the resistance. The touch
driving electrodes TX1-1.about.TX4-1 and TX1-m.about.TX4-m are
electrically connected with the touch driving electrodes of the
same channel in the border area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel through the traces TR3 and use the traces TR1 to
electrically connect the common electrode CITO in the region
corresponding to the touch driving electrode through the via VIA to
achieve the double routing design to reduce the resistance. The
multi-function electrodes MFL are electrically connected with the
other multi-function electrodes MFL in the border area of the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel through the traces TR4 and
use the traces to electrically connect with the common electrode
CITO in the region corresponding to the multi-function electrode
MFL through the via VIA to achieve the double routing design to
reduce the resistance.
In practical applications, the traces TR1 of the touch driving
electrodes TX1-1.about.TX4-1 and TX1-m.about.TX4-m can be uniformly
disposed or different numbers of the traces TR1 are disposed in
different regions to achieve the best RC loading design. Taking the
touch driving electrodes TX1-1.about.TX4-1 for example, two traces
TR1 are disposed in each of the touch driving electrodes
TX1-1.about.TX2-1 respectively and one trace TR1 is disposed in
each of the touch driving electrodes TX3-1.about.TX4-1
respectively, but not limited to this. In addition, the active area
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is surrounded by the
traces TR4 of the multi-function electrode MFL in the border area
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel to achieve the
shielding effect. Please also refer to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 illustrates a
schematic diagram of the touch driving electrodes (TX) having 24
channels along the vertical direction and the touch sensing
electrodes (RX) having 14 channels along the horizontal direction.
It should be noticed that the active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are bilaterally symmetrical.
Please refer to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 illustrates a second embodiment of
the layout of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the
invention. In this embodiment, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel uses the first direction electrode as the touch driving
electrode (TX) and the second direction electrode as the touch
sensing electrode (RX), but not limited to this. As shown in FIG.
9, it is assumed that the touch sensing electrodes
RX1-1.about.RX1-m belong to the same channel RX1, the touch sensing
electrodes RX2-1.about.RX2-m belong to the same channel RX2, the
touch sensing electrodes RX3-1.about.RX3-m belong to the same
channel RX3 and the touch sensing electrodes RX4-1.about.RX4-m
belong to the same channel RX4. Taking the channel RX1 for example,
horizontal traces TR3 are disposed above and under the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel to connect the touch sensing
electrodes RX1-1.about.RX1-m belong to the same channel RX1 to
achieve the double routing design and reduce the resistance. In
addition, because the touch sensing electrodes RX1-1.about.RX1-m at
the right side and the left side have traces TR entering into the
control circuit IC respectively, the aim of multi-region driving
can be achieved to reduce the RC loading. About the other channels
RX2.about.RX4, since they are similar to the above-mentioned
channel RX1, they will not be repeated here. As to the traces TR of
the touch driving electrodes TX1 and TXm, they enter into the
control circuit IC respectively; the traces TR of the
multi-function electrodes MFL are connected together and then enter
into the control circuit IC respectively.
The touch driving electrodes TX1 and TXm are formed by the first
conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh type. A part of the common
electrode CITO corresponding to the touch driving electrodes TX1
and TXm are electrically connected with the other parts of the
common electrode CITO in the border area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel. And, a part of the first conductive
layer M3 not forming the touch electrodes is used as the traces of
the part of the common electrode CITO corresponding to the touch
driving electrodes TX1 and TXm to reduce the resistance. The touch
sensing electrodes RX1-1.about.RX4-1 and RX1-m.about.RX4-m are
electrically connected with the touch sensing electrodes of the
same channel in the border area of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel through the traces TR3 and use the traces TR1 to
electrically connect the common electrode CITO in the region
corresponding to the touch sensing electrode through the via VIA to
achieve the double routing design to reduce the resistance. The
multi-function electrodes MFL are electrically connected with the
other multi-function electrodes MFL in the border area of the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel through the traces TR4 and
use the traces to electrically connect with the common electrode
CITO in the region corresponding to the multi-function electrode
MFL through the via VIA to achieve the double routing design to
reduce the resistance.
In practical applications, the traces TR1 of the touch sensing
electrodes RX1-1.about.RX4-1 and RX1-m.about.RX4-m can be uniformly
disposed or different numbers of the traces TR1 are disposed in
different regions to achieve the best RC loading design. Taking the
touch sensing electrodes RX1-1.about.RX4-1 for example, two traces
TR1 are disposed in each of the touch sensing electrodes
RX1-1.about.RX2-1 respectively and one trace TR1 is disposed in
each of the touch sensing electrodes RX3-1.about.RX4-1
respectively, but not limited to this. In addition, the active area
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is surrounded by the
traces TR4 of the multi-function electrode MFL in the border area
of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel to achieve the
shielding effect. Please also refer to FIG. 10. FIG. 10 illustrates
a schematic diagram of the touch driving electrodes (TX) having 14
channels along the horizontal direction and the touch sensing
electrodes (RX) having 24 channels along the vertical direction. It
should be noticed that the active area of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are bilaterally symmetrical.
Please refer to FIG. 11. FIG. 11 illustrates a third embodiment of
the layout of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the
invention. In this embodiment, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel uses the first direction electrode as the touch sensing
electrodes (RX) and the second direction electrode as the touch
driving electrodes (TX), but not limited to this. It should be
noticed that the difference between FIG. 11 and FIG. 9 is: the
touch driving electrodes (TX) of FIG. 11 can be divided into a
first group of electrodes TX1 and a second group of electrodes
TX(n+1). And, the traces of the first group of electrodes TX1 will
pass through the second group of electrodes TX(n+1) without any
electrical connections between the traces of the first group of
electrodes TX1 and the second group of electrodes TX(n+1). The
first group of electrodes TX1 in this embodiment is formed by one
touch driving electrode TX and the second group of electrodes
TX(n+1) in this embodiment is formed by two touch driving
electrodes TX(n+1), but not limited to this.
In fact, the two touch driving electrodes TX(n+1) of the second
group of electrodes TX(n+1) are electrically connected. Similarly,
the two touch driving electrodes TX(2n) of the second group of
electrodes TX(2n) are electrically connected, and so on. In
addition, a part of the common electrode corresponding to the first
group of electrodes TX1 and another part of the common electrode
corresponding to the second group of electrodes TX(n+1) are
belonged to the same common electrode region or different common
electrode regions respectively without any specific limitations.
FIG. 12 illustrates a schematic diagram of the touch sensing
electrodes (RX) having 12 channels along the vertical direction and
the touch driving electrodes (TX) having 30 channels along the
horizontal direction. It should be noticed that the active area of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel are bilaterally
symmetrical.
It should be noticed that the touch driving electrodes (TX) defined
in the first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third
embodiment mentioned above can be also defined as touch sensing
electrodes (RX) in other embodiments depending on practical needs.
Similarly, the touch sensing electrodes (RX) defined in the first
embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment
mentioned above can be also defined as touch driving electrodes
(TX) depending on practical needs.
It should be noticed that the various kinds of single-layer touch
electrode patterns can be realized by the laminated structure of
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention. In
fact, the shapes of the touch electrodes EA and EB can be designed
to be any geometry based on practical needs, such as regular shapes
or irregular shapes. And, the shapes of the edges of the touch
electrodes can be designed to be regular shapes (e.g., the linear
edge shown in FIG. 13A) or irregular shapes as shown in FIG. 13B
without any specific limitations.
Please refer to FIG. 14. FIG. 14 illustrates a schematic diagram of
the mesh-type touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel having multi-function electrodes MFL. As shown in FIG.
14, the touch electrodes EA and EB can be used as touch driving
electrodes (TX) or touch sensing electrodes (RX) respectively. For
example, the touch electrode EA is used as the touch driving
electrode (TX) and the touch electrode EB is used as the touch
sensing electrodes (RX) or the touch electrode EA is used as the
touch sensing electrodes (RX) and the touch electrode EB is used as
the touch driving electrode (TX).
In fact, the touch electrodes EA and EB can be both formed by the
first conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh type, or as the
above-mentioned embodiments that one of the touch electrodes EA and
EB is formed by the first conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh type
and the other of the touch electrodes EA and EB is electrically
connected with the common electrode CITO without any specific
limitations. As to the multi-function electrodes MFL, the
multi-function electrodes MFL can be disposed between the driving
electrodes (TX) and the sensing electrodes (RX) and the
multi-function electrodes MFL can be also formed by the first
conductive layer M3 arranged in mesh type, but not limited to
this.
It should be noticed that, in practical applications, the common
electrode in the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the
invention can have only single common electrode region or a
plurality of common electrode regions without any specific
limitations. The single common electrode region or the plurality of
common electrode regions of the common electrode will overlap the
touch electrodes of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel. The
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention can be
operated in a display mode and a touch mode at different times.
That is to say, the display mode and the touch mode of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way.
Please also refer to FIG. 15A. As shown in FIG. 15A, the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch mode by
outputting touch driving signals STH during the blanking interval
of the image signal SIM. And, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel will perform touch sensing during the non-display timing
(namely the blanking interval).
Please refer to FIG. 15B. FIG. 15B illustrates a schematic diagram
of the vertical blanking interval (VBI), the horizontal blanking
interval (HBI), and the long horizontal blanking interval (LHBI)
respectively. In practical applications, the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel can use different types of blanking
intervals based on different driving ways. As shown in FIG. 15B,
the blanking interval can include at least one VBI, a HBI, and a
LHBI. A time length of the LHBI is equal to or larger than a time
length of the HBI. The LHBI can be obtained by redistributing a
plurality of HBIs or the LHBI includes the VBI.
Please refer to FIG. 7 and FIG. 16 at the same time. It is assumed
that the touch sensing electrodes RX1.about.RXm in FIG. 7
correspond to different common electrode regions VCOM1.about.VCOMm
respectively. As shown in FIG. 16, when the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the display mode, the
gate driver and the source driver will output gate driving signals
G1.about.G3 and source driving signals S1.about.S3 respectively to
drive the pixels of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel to
display images; when the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is
operated in the touch mode, the touch driving electrodes
TX1.about.TX2 are provided touch signals respectively and the
common electrode regions VCOM1.about.VCOMm are switched to a
floating state.
Please refer to FIG. 9 and FIG. 17A.about.FIG. 17B at the same
time. It is assumed that the touch driving electrodes TX1.about.TX2
in FIG. 9 correspond to different common electrode regions
VCOM1.about.VCOM2 respectively. As shown in FIG. 17A-FIG. 17B, when
the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the
display mode, the gate driver and the source driver will output
gate driving signals G1.about.G3 and source driving signals
S1.about.S3 respectively to drive the pixels of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel to display images; when the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the touch mode, the
touch driving electrodes TX1.about.TX2 are provided touch signals
respectively and the common electrode regions VCOM1.about.VCOM2 are
correspondingly provided a touch related signal having the same
frequency, the same amplitude or the same phase with the touch
signals in order (as shown in FIG. 17A) or the common electrode
regions VCOM1.about.VCOM2 are switched to the floating state (as
shown in FIG. 17B).
Please refer to FIG. 11 and FIG. 18 at the same time. It is assumed
that the touch driving electrodes TX1 and TX(n+1) in FIG. 11
correspond to the same common electrode region VCOM1 and the touch
driving electrodes TXn and TX(2n) in FIG. 11 correspond to the same
common electrode region VCOMn. As shown in FIG. 18, when the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in the display
mode, the gate driver and the source driver will output gate
driving signals G1.about.G3 and source driving signals S1.about.S3
respectively to drive the pixels of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel to display images; when the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel is operated in the touch mode, the touch driving
electrodes TX1.about.TX(2n) are provided touch signals respectively
and the common electrode regions VCOM1.about.VCOMn are switched to
the floating state (as shown in FIG. 18).
Compared to the prior arts, the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel of the invention has the following advantages and
effects:
(1) Designs of the touch sensing electrodes and their traces in the
in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel of the invention are
simple.
(2) The original aperture ratio of the in-cell mutual-capacitive
touch panel will not affected by the layout method of the
invention.
(3) The RC loading of the common electrode can be reduced.
(4) When the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch panel is operated in
touch mode, the common electrode is controlled simultaneously to
reduce entire RC loading of the in-cell mutual-capacitive touch
panel.
(5) The touch mode and the display mode of the in-cell
mutual-capacitive touch panel are driven in a time-sharing way to
enhance the signal-noise ratio (SNR).
With the example and explanations above, the features and spirits
of the invention will be hopefully well described. Those skilled in
the art will readily observe that numerous modifications and
alterations of the device may be made while retaining the teaching
of the invention. Accordingly, the above disclosure should be
construed as limited only by the metes and bounds of the appended
claims.
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